Railway highway stop



Nov. 6 1923.

J. E. COURTNEY RAILWAY HIGHWAY STOP Filed April 26, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet1 5 vwewtoz Gnome/go o LIZ? 6 0225224} J. E. COURTNEY RAILWAY HIGHWAYSTOP Npv. 6 1923.

Filed April 26, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 2 51 nucuto'a Lizzy Nov. 6 1923.1,473,082

J. E. COURTNEY RAILWAY HIGHWAY STOP Filed April 26, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet5 -4 Z4 Z2 6/ 0 6 #vv yx 6 7 6 .Wr I \lJ GflY/ 9 Z94 i do 34 34 1 I I Nl 1 33 g $7 60 'I 35 /za 75 39 if I J 27 5 9 3 wuemto'o Patented Nov. 6,1923.,

UNITE S'l? JOE E. COURTNEY, OF PLAINVIEW, TEXAS.

RAILWAY HIGHVJAY STOP.

Application filed April 26,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Jon E. COURTNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Plainview,-in the county of Hale and State of Texas, haveinvented a new and useful Railway Highway Stop, of which the followingis a specification.

'T his invention relates to railway crossing gates, and moreparticularly to a crossing gate of the automatic type, the operatingmeans associated with the gate being train controlled to actuate thegate at a point remote from the gate proper.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a gate operating'meanswhich will be actuated by the movement of a train to close the gate whena train is approaching a crossing, the operating means being actuated toopen the gate when the train has passed the crossing.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for lockingthe gate in its open or closed position, to insure against wind movingthe gate from its open or closed position.

. lVith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed,v may be made, within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a gate and operating means constructed inaccordance with the invention and disclosing the same in its closedposition, over highway at a railway crossing. I

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the gate and its supportingpost.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the hollow supportingpost.

Figure 41- is a sectional view on line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on line 66 of Figure 4;. V

Figure 7 is a diagrammatical view of the gears employed for operatingthe gate,

7 Figure-8 isla sectional detail view of the pawl and ratchetconstruction,

Figure. 9 is enla ged sectional detail 1923. Serial N0. 634,802.

view disclosing the means for controlling the operating mechanism of thegate.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the supporting post for the gate isindicated at 5, the same being hollow, the upper end thereof beingclosed by meansof the cap 6 formed with a central opening to accommodatethe shaft 7 on which the gate proper 7 is mounted to swing in ahorizontal plane. This post 5 is positioned at a point adjacent to oneside of a highway and in proximity to a railway track to swing acrossthe highway and prevent persons from pass ng onto the tracks when atrain is approaching the highway.

The means for operating the gate embodies an operating rod 8 that movesthrough suitable bearings formed in the braces 9 and 10 which have theirends secured to the. inner wall of the post 5 as clearly shown by Figure3 of the drawings. This operating rod 8 is formed with a bore extendingfrom the free end thereof and terminating at a point. substantiallyintermediate the end of the rod. which bore is designed to accommodatethe rod 11 to which is secured a cross arm 12 that carries pawls 13.

Cooperating with the pawls 13 are shoulders 14 formed at the inner endsof the inclined surfaces 15 formed integral with the rod 8. the pawlsbeing designed to ride over the inclined surfaces 15 and enga e theshoulders 14: to connect the rods 8 and 11.-

The brace 10 is formed with cams 16 lying in the paths of travel of thepawls 13 when the pawls move to the limits of their inward movementswith the result that the pawls are released from the shoulders forpurposes to be hereinafter more fully described. The rod 11 isrelatively long and is supported in bearin s 17 of the braces 18 and 19.the brace 19 being also prov ded with a suitable bearing to support theshaft 7.

centtothesideedges of theseetionsthe depressions being designedtoreceive the plunger 2 8in,one end ofthe rod 11, whereby the shaft islocked in predetermined positions to prevent the same from being rotatedby means other than theactuating-mechanism.

Associated with the segmental gears 22 and 23 is a ratchet wheel 29which has a mutilated gear 30 -formed on one surface thereof to contactwith the teeth of the segmental gears to rotate the same and cause arelative movement of the shaft supporting the ,gears 22 and 23.

The inner surface of the ratchet wheel. 29 is formed with teeth 31 that,cooperate with the pivoted pawls 32 carried by the support 33 keyed orotherwise securedto' shaft 34, which shaft has one end. thereof mountedin the bearings 35 secured to the inner wall the holl w Po Coiledsprings 36 are'mounted in suitable openings formed in the support 33,the free ends of the springs contacting with the in ner edges of thepawls. 32 to normally urge the pawls into engagement with the teeth 31ofthe ratchetwheel. Thus it will be seen that as the ratchet wheel movesin one di rection, the support and pawls are carried with the ratchetwheel, but upon reverse movement of the ratchet wheel, the teeth 31 rideover thcpawls to the end that the ratchet wheel moves independently ofthe support and pawls,

Asshown by Figure i of the drawings, a pin 37 extends laterally from theratchet Wheel29 and has connection with one end ofthe connecting link38., the opposite end of the connecting link having connection with thefree end of the rod 11 through the pin 39,, whereupon movement of therod 11 produces a lielative movement of the ratchet wheel as beforestated.

Reference character 41-0 designates a coiled spring which is supportedon the rod 11 and has its upper end contacting with pin ll, the oppositeend thereof resting on the brace 19,wher eupon movement of the rod 11.in one direction acts to compress the coiled spring,which coiled springacts to return .openingin thebrace 4 57, from where they new. e t the pueys, 8ssuppo ted at, h lawn endiofthe hollow: post 55,-

These tabl s ns s1sthe sp ifies means employed for imparting movement tothe rods 8 and 11 and as shown, these cables pass through tubes i9 whichhave one of their respective ends positioned in suitable threadedopenings in the hollow post 5 at a point adjacent to the base thereof asat 50. The opposite ends of the tubes 49 are disposed in threadedopenings of the gear boxes 51.

A shaft 52 has one end thereofpositioned in the gear box associatedtherewith, the opposite end of the shaft being mounted in the bearing 53disposed adjacent to a railway track. there being provided operatingftlmS 53 011 the inner ends of the shafts 52 that extend upwardly fromthe shafts and lie in the path of travel of a suitable operating arm notshown, and which is carried by the train or car moving over the track.

Each of these operating arms supports an auxiliary section 54 which haspivotal con nection with the arm associated therewith at 55, theauxiliary sections 5 being formed with inclined surfaces to contact withthe; arm carriedby the train or car moving over the track to cause thearm 53 to move to a horizontal position, to rotate the shaft 52associated therewith.

Mounted on the outer end of the {11111353, and connected with theauxiliary sections 54: are the coiled springs 56 that normally-hold theauxiliary sections 54 in their initial positions, These springs act tocushion the blow directed to the arm 53, when the oper-r ating armcarried by a train or car contacts with the auxiliary section to operatethe device.

Disposed on the outer end of each shaft 52 and positioned in the gearboxes ,5]. are the pulleys 57 to which the cables 15 and 46 are secured,whereupon movement of the pulleys 57 results in a relative movement ofthe cables. In the operationo'f the device,

assuming that a train is moving in the di-' rection of the arrows asindicated in Figure 1 of the drawings, and the train has passed the roadsurface, crossing the railway track. Secured to the shaft 7 at a pointdirectly under the cap 6 is a disk 60 to which are, secured the springs61 that have their outer ends secured to the post at-a point adjacent tothe upper end thereof, so that when the shaft 7 is moved as by a vehiclecontacting with the gate 7 when in its closed position, the springs willreturn. the gate to itsvnormal position. V

The operating arm carried by the train contacts with the auxiliarysection 54- ot' the operating arm 53 moving the armin the direction ofthe arrow to the end that the pulley 57 associated with theactuated'arm53 rotates, exerting a pull on the rod 8, which in turn is moved,against thetension of the coiled spring L2. Since the rods 8v an re consetedtqqi ed p g. 4015 a low placed under tension. It is obvious that asrod 8 moves downwardly, the pawls 13 contact with the cams 16 whichcauses the pawls 13 to move outwardly and disengage the shoulders 14 ofthe rod 8.

During the downward movement of the rods 8 and 11 the ratchet wheel 29is rotated, which in turn rotates the segmental gear which is in meshwith the mutilated gear 30 carried thereby, to the end that the shaft 7and gate arm 7 supported thereby, is moved to its opened position.

When the pawls 13 release their hold on the rod 8, the spring 40 returnsthe rod 11 to its normal position, the plunger 28 thereof seating in oneof the recesses of the segment 25 to lock the shaft 7 and arm againstaccidental movement. It will be obvious that upon the return movement ofthe shaft 11, the ratchet wheel 29 moves over the pawls 32. It is to beunderstood however that the train passing over the track in a directionof the arrow as shown by Figure 1 of the drawings, prior to theoperation as described, has contacted with the opposed arm 53 to movethe gate arm 7 to a position as indicated by Figure 1.

What is claimed as new is 1. In a gate operating mechanism, a hollowpost, a shaft supported within the post and having its upper enddisposed above the post, a gate arm supported on the upper end of theshaft, and means within the post and associated with the shaft forrotating the shaft intermittently in opposite directions.

2. In a gate operating mechanism, a holpost, a vertical shaft extendingabove the post, a gate arm supported on the upper end of the shaft andadapted to rotate in a horizontal plane, train controlled means withinthe hollow post and adapted to operate to rotate the shaft to move thegate arm to its open or closed position, and means for automaticallylocking the shaft. against rotary movement.

3. In a gate operating mechanism, a hollow post, a gate supporting shaftextending into the post, segmental gears mounted on the shaft, a ratchetwheel having a mutilated gear adapted to contact with the segmentalgears to rotate the shaft, operating rods within the post, means forconnecting the operating rods and ratchet wheel, whereby movement of therods in one direction causes a rotary movement of the ratchet wheel torotate the shaft, means for returning the operating rods to their normalpositions, means for operating the rods, and means for locking the shaftagainst movement.

4. In a gate operating mechanism, a hollow supporting post, a shaftextending into the post and having one end thereof disposed above thepost, a gate arm supported by the shaft and adapted to operate in ahorizontal plane, a segment having depressions formed therein, traincontrolled means supported within the post and adapted to operate torotate the shaft, and said train controlled means having a springpressed plunger adapted to move into the depressions to lock the shaftagainst movement.

5. In a gate operating mechanism, a hollow supporting post, a movablerod supported within the hollow post and having a bore in one endthereof, a vertically mov able rod disposed above the first mentionedrod and having one end thereof disposed in the bore of the firstmentioned rod, train controlled means for moving the rods within thesupporting post, a gate supporting shaft positioned in the upper end ofthe hollow post, means for transmitting motion of the rods to the shaft,and means for automati cally disconnecting the rods when the rods havemoved to the limits of their downward movements.

6. In a gate operating mechanism, a hollow supporting post, a verticalshaft having one end thereof extending above the hollow post, a gate armmounted on the upper end of the shaft, vertically movable operating rodspositioned in the hollow post, coiled springmembers fornormally urgingthe rods to their initial positions, means for transmitting movement ofthe rods to the shaft to rotate the gate arm, train controlled means foractuating the rods, and means for locking the shaft against movement.

7. In a gate operating mechanism, a hollow supporting post. a gatesupporting shaft extending into the hollow supporting post, an operatingrod having a bore in its upper end, a rod having one end disposed in thebore, means associated with the last mentioned rod and shaft forimparting rotary movement to the shaft when the rods move in onedirection, pawls carried by the lower end of one rod, shoulders formedon the opposed rod, said pawls adapted to move into engagement with theshoulders to connect the rod, train controlled means for moving the rodsin one direction. and spring members for returning the rods to theirinitial positions.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOE E. COURTNEY.

Witnesses:

Gno. M. SoHIoK, V. R. Romans.

